1.8 million people recently infected with HIV —UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS has warned that HIV infections have continued to rise with a reported 1.8 million people newly infected by the virus globally.

The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, at the International AIDS Conference in the Netherlands, urged countries to boost prevention measures and continue to facilitate access to treatment.

A statement released by the agency quoted Sidibé as saying, “UNAIDS is urging countries to take bold action to address the HIV prevention crisis.

“Around 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2017 and around 50 countries experienced a rise in new HIV infections as HIV prevention services are not being provided on an adequate scale or with sufficient intensity.

“Health is a human rights imperative and we are deeply concerned about the lack of political commitment and the failure to invest in proven HIV programmes, particularly for young people and key populations.

“If countries think they can treat their way out of their epidemics, they are dangerously mistaken,” Sidibe said.

A new UNAIDS report revealed that 47 per cent of new HIV infections globally affect key vulnerable populations, such as sex workers and people who inject drugs.

Sidibe said while a combination of HIV prevention approaches could mitigate this, such as harm reduction, pre-exposure prophylaxis, better social care and condoms, many countries were unwilling to invest in approaches which they view as culturally or religiously inappropriate.

“In 2017, around 6,500 women and girls were infected with HIV every week.

“Limited access to education, a lack of economic autonomy and a lack of decision-making power, including over their own health, expose them to intimate partner violence, limit their ability to practice safer sex and limit their ability to benefit from HIV and sexual and reproductive health services, making them more vulnerable to HIV infection,” he noted.

The UNAIDS chief added that in some Southern African countries for example, where HIV prevalence could be as high as 70 per cent among sex workers, it was reported that condoms were often confiscated by the police.

“If countries don’t provide comprehensive sexuality education, condoms, harm reduction or pre-exposure prophylaxis for key populations, this will ultimately translate into more new HIV infections, higher future treatment costs and a higher burden for health-care budgets and systems,” he warned.

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